4.24.2014

three and a half and 15 months

i love having two little boys. if i had girls, i'd love them. if i had a mix, i'd love that, too. i'm not saying i'm better than you because of my situation. i'm just saying - i love my kids. i grew up with all sisters. there were no cars, guns, balls. ok there were probably a few of those things... but, not the obsessions like we have here.

lately i've been thinking a lot about how similar they are and at the same time how different. they have the same manner, temper if you will. they're both easy going, happy little fellas. they're both independent, self-entertainers. i love that. i love that i can work part time from home at my computer and they'll typically just play and keep themselves busy. they play together and laugh... oh man, their giggles - melts a momma's heart. sure, i have to help here and there with things, but it makes things nice for me. but there are differences, too.

mikey is sensitive. he is a rule follower. i told him one time not to say "stupid" and "hate" (on two different occasions) in passing, that is now law. if you say those words around him, expect to be corrected. he is smart and inquisitive. he likes to talk and ask questions and figure things out. he's not a baby anymore, at all. he's a kid. he thinks. he goes to school, loves it and does well there. he is methodical, he is habitual. there are times when i am perplexed because he'll do something that frustrates me - because he is a little me. it is a good thing i'm pretty awesome, cause so is he. ha. he has some of my more difficult traits, but he also has my better ones, too. i also realize that he's 3. and from what i've heard and seen, probably the hardest age. so if this is him at his worst, i'll take it. he's a good boy. i often say mikey should've been a little brother because he loves big kids, but he is also an amazing big brother. he is protective and generous, most of the time.

henry. this little bundle of joy. this kid got me through a difficult 2013. my angel. happy to the core. now that he's less baby and more toddler, his personality shows more. if mikey is the rule follower, henry is the rebel. he has such a sense of humor. he wants to figure everything out. he is his own little man. i think he is a little young to say he is not a good listener, but he's not. if you tell him no - about something, like throwing a ball down the stairs - he turns and smiles as he chucks it down the stairs anyway. he is very quirky, i am finding. he loves flip flops, but hates all other shoes. ("we don't say hate!") he loves balls. ball is one of his few words he is saying right now at 15 months old. at the doctor's office last week, when the pediatrician was asking me what he can and can't do, i said, "he knows where his nose and ears are, but he probably won't perform." so i asked him, and he shook his head at me. the doc said that it was fine - he understands things very well. he knew exactly what i wanted him to do, he just wasn't willing. i sometimes worry that he's going to get away with things that he shouldn't because he smiles about it, but ... he'll turn out fine, i think. he is small in stature but mighty in spirit. he is a face maker. he is a climber. he is a stinker. he is into everything. everyone that knows him adores him.

anyway. i just like my little boys. i enjoy their personalities. they can drive me up a wall at times, but they also make me laugh harder than anyone i know and they bring me so much happiness and peace. i'm so thankful for the job they give me everday - "mom." it is not easy, but it is the best one ever.